The present invention relates to a beverage topping composition which provides a frothy or foam layer to a beverage. The beverage topping composition provides creaming and can flavor, sweeten, and slightly cool coffee and other beverages.
Coffee beverages and other hot beverages are very popular. Coffee and other hot beverage drinkers demand a wide variety of characteristics in their beverages. Black coffee just does not suffice in today""s hot beverage market. An explosion in the number of varieties of coffee drinks has occurred in recent years. It used to be that the only choices one had for coffee was cream or sugar. Now coffee drinkers desire cappuccino-style drinks, lattes, espressos, and others. Coffee drinkers are also quite discerning when it comes to other characteristics of the coffee such as texture, smoothness, body, bitterness, and so on. This desire for certain appealing coffee characteristics is manifested by an incredible number of coffee varieties now readily available to the consumer such as Kona, French Roast, Italian Roast, Arabian, Ethiopian, Tanzanian, Kenyan, Sumatran, Javanese, and Celebes to name just a few. The coffee varieties differ in a number of sensory characteristics such as body, acidity, smoothness, and flavor among many others. In respect to a variety of beverages including coffee, a particularly desirable characteristic is the quality of having a frothy or foam layer on the top of the drink.
A variety of methods are known for producing a foam layer on top of coffee. A primary example is the standard cappuccino coffee. Cappuccino-style coffees have a lower layer made of a coffee beverage and an upper layer of steamed frothy milk or cream. The coffee layer is made first and put into the beverage container and then the milk or cream is steamed and aerated to produce a froth or foam which is poured on the coffee layer. Other specialty coffee drinks are made similarly. Such methods of producing coffee drinks are usually encountered in restaurant or coffee shops and require specialized equipment. Furthermore preparation of such drinks requires a skilled operator and is time consuming.
Other methods of producing a foam layer on hot beverages are known. Such methods are based on the use of a foaming dry creamer, the use of a frozen concentrate which foams, or the use of an instant style coffee, all of which upon addition of liquid produce the desired foam or frothy layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,936 to Jimenez-Laguna et al., discloses a two-component beverage product comprising (1) a beverage-forming component and (2) a frozen milk concentrate. The two components are in proportion to form a beverage having a foamed milk layer on top of the beverage layer upon addition of liquid to the product. The frozen milk component incorporates a gas at an overrun of at least 130%. The preferred overrun is at least 150%, and more preferred at least 170%. An overrun of 200-250% was stated as desirable. A problem with this approach is that the coffee drinker is limited to the particular coffee variety used in the formulation. Furthermore, the formulations disclosed rely on either the use of instant style coffee or a coffee liquor which does not necessarily provide a particularly pleasant tasting product. Many coffee drinkers prefer fresh brewed coffee over instant coffee or coffee from coffee concentrates.
The instant cappuccino-style coffees that produce a foam layer upon addition of hot liquid generally contain an instant coffee along with sweeteners and a creamer blend containing a foaming agent which produces gas for aeration. A problem with these types of instant cappuccino-style coffees is that the creamer blend is of a different density than the unreconstituted coffee. Such instant cappuccino-style coffees are difficult to formulate in greater than one serving packages as the foaming creamer and instant coffee separate out from one another and form distinct layers. Consider a multi-serving or bulk preparation of such an instant cappuccino-style coffee: if a consumer were to spoon out a serving from a multi-serving container in which the foaming creamer and instant coffee had separated to form distinct layers, the result would be disastrous. A coffee drink with all creamer and no coffee or vice versa makes for an unhappy coffee drinker.
Attempts to circumvent the problem of differing densities of creamer and coffee were made by limiting the amount of creamer in the product. Limiting the creamer has the effect producing a less desirable taste characteristic or foam layer. Others have attempted to produce a foaming creamer with better foaming properties by providing compositions that produce carbon dioxide upon addition of water. Carbon dioxide produced foams are generally not as appealing and long lasting as other foams.
Instant style coffee products are particularly susceptible to mechanical forces that disrupt their physical integrity during normal shipping and handling. The ability of foaming creamers to foam is related their physical structure. Disruption of this structure during normal handling gives rise to a less desirable product for the consumer.
Thus there is a need for a beverage topping composition that provides a frothy or foam layer while it creams, flavors, sweetens, and provides desirable drinking characteristics, while avoiding the problems associated with the shipping, handling and formulation of currently available products.
The invention generally relates to a frozen beverage topping composition which provides a frothy or foam layer. Optionally, the frozen beverage topping composition of the invention may sweeten and/or flavor the liquid to which it is added. The frozen beverage topping comprises a composition with an overrun of less than about 130%, more preferably less than 115%, and most preferably less 100%. The invention may be used in hot or cold beverages and may be used prior to or after addition of liquid to the beverage container. The frozen beverage topping composition of the invention may be made in non-dairy, dairy, and real dairy forms, as well as caloric and non-caloric sweetened versions. The sweetness of particular embodiments varies from highly sweetened to unsweetened versions. Methods of producing the frozen beverage composition are also provided.
In a specific embodiment, the invention provides a frozen beverage topping composition which provides froth or foam. The compositions of this embodiment preferably cream, and/or slightly cool the beverage to which it is added. The frozen beverage topping composition may optionally sweeten and flavor the liquids to which it is added. Furthermore, the products of this embodiment can be made in non-dairy, dairy, and real dairy forms, as well as caloric and non-caloric sweetened versions. The products of this embodiment comprise a beverage topping composition with an overrun of less than about 130%, preferably less than about 115%, and more preferable less than about 100% overrun.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a method of making a frozen beverage topping composition. In this embodiment the method for producing a beverage whitener comprises the steps of (a) mixing together water, creamer, sweeteners and/or bulking agents, foam stabilizers, emulsifiers, and optionally flavoring; (b) pasteurizing said mixture; (c) homogenizing said mixture; (d) aerating said pasteurized, homogenized mixture to give an overrun of less than about 130%, preferably less than 115% and more preferably less than 100%; and (e) cooling said aerated mixture to a temperature sufficient to solidify the mixture.
Yet another embodiment of the invention provides a method of making a beverage with a frothy top layer. In this embodiment the compositions of the invention are added to a container before or after addition of liquid. Such liquids include coffee, tea, hot chocolate, liquor, soup, juice, and the such.